Colorado City CPS phone call resembles one made in Texas

One led to raid, one didn't

by Amanda J. Crawford - Apr. 11, 2008 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic

Arizona child-welfare officials are investigating a call from a 16-year-old girl alleging sexual abuse in the polygamist stronghold of Colorado City - a call similar to one in Texas that led officials to raid a related polygamist compound last week and take more than 400 children into state custody.

The calls came within a week of each other and were allegedly made by girls of the same age and involved similar allegations of abuse. In both cases, the calls were made to outside organizations and referred to child-welfare authorities. In both cases, officials were unable to immediately find the girls who made the calls.

It is unclear at this time whether the calls are related.

But the Arizona case prompted a significantly different response than in Texas where police officers stormed the compound of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, took all the children into state custody and confiscated evidence from the temple.

In Arizona, no children have been taken into state custody - in part, officials say, because of differences in the communities and state laws.

"I don't have the authority, and local officials don't have the authority, to go in and, based on an unverified phone call, sweep up 400 children," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who has made cracking down on abuses in Colorado City a hallmark of his administration. "If we found that girl (who made the allegations), we could take her into custody and perhaps her siblings in custody. There is no way in Arizona law we could reach any further."

Anti-polygamy activists have long criticized Arizona and Utah for failing to do more to protect girls in the twin cities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, the headquarters of the FLDS, which is known for its spiritual marriages of young girls to much older, already married men. In Arizona, a few men have been prosecuted for their relationships with underage girls, and Warren Jeffs, the sect's leader, awaits trial in Arizona. Jeffs was convicted in Utah last year of rape as an accomplice in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl.

The ongoing investigation into the recent allegations of abuse by the 16-year-old girl is among dozens of cases of abuse in Colorado City that Arizona authorities have investigated over the years.

According to records obtained Thursday by The Arizona Republic, CPS has received 61 reports of abuse involving children in Colorado City since 2000. CPS workers were able to verify the specific allegations that prompted their investigations in only 10 cases.

Most of the reports to CPS related to physical abuse or neglect, not sexual abuse, such as underage marriages, incest or forced sex. Of the 21 abuse reports from 2006 to the present, only three involved sexual abuse, said Ken Deibert, a deputy director of CPS' parent agency.

Janice Mickens, CPS program administrator, said she does not believe any of the cases over the years involving sexual-abuse allegations have resulted in children being taken into state custody.

Earlier this year, the agency removed a sibling group of 10 children from their home in Colorado City after allegations of neglect, but those children have been returned to their family, Deibert said.

Authorities had limited information about the 16-year-old girl who made the recent abuse allegations. Goddard said he believes investigators did not have a specific address and only had a first name and age to go on.

Deibert said CPS worked with officials in Colorado City and interviewed families. But they have been unable to find the girl or verify that she exists.

"We interviewed all members of the family that were identified and completed a thorough investigation with the support of local officials," he said. "We have found nothing to substantiate those allegations."

Flora Jessop, a former FLDS member who leads the non-profit Child Protection Project, said she is familiar with the Arizona allegations and believes the call conveyed to Arizona authorities is legitimate.

"Arizona - even if they would have found the girl - has a track record of not protecting these kids," Jessop said. "So is it surprising that they found nothing? Absolutely not."

Goddard and Deibert note that state officials have made strides to build stronger connections with Colorado City residents, which has resulted in improved cooperation from members of the sect. A state office with CPS investigators opened in 2004, and Deibert cites the fact that abuse reports to CPS have increased in recent years as evidence of growing trust with members of the sect.

But they concede that differences in state law and circumstances mean in some cases they are unable to bring charges.

Goddard also notes that hundreds of members of the polygamist group in Texas reside on a single compound.

In Arizona, nearly 10,000 people, most of whom are members of the sect, live in separate family homes in an open, independent town with its own government and police force.

"In Arizona, we need to have a verifiable statement of abuse from the person who has been abused," Goddard said.